This particular camping trip to North Georgia was no different. We arrived in our great, outdoor paradise and set-up our tent as usual. We had the standard array of camping equipment: the old, reliable, ugly green Coleman Stove; the lanterns; folding chairs; sleeping bags, etc. It was quite a haul to get all the equipment loaded up in our car with our two children and a Dalmation. It reminded me a lot of the old Beverly Hillbillies TV Show all loaded up and moving on except we weren't going to Beverly Hills and we did have a roof on the car.
We were fortunate on this camping trip because we decided to bring our 6-inch thick Foam mattress to sleep on in the tent. Sleeping in sleeping bags on the hard ground was not the most comfortable thing in the world. No matter which way you turned, there was a tree root to dodge, or an uneven hole in the ground that you sunk in. I was really looking forward to a comfortable nights sleep. In fact, I was expecting this mattress to be even more comfortable than the mattress on my bed at home. So, after a hard day of camping, it was time to turn in. The Dalmation in her Dog Cage, inside our tent; the kids all snuggled in their sleeping beds. My wife and I all cozy on our nice, thick, foam mattress. Man, this was the life.
Sometime during the night, as we could almost predict, the monsoon rains began. It was actually very relaxing and soothing to be inside the tent and listening to the pitter patter of the rain drops on the tent. We all slept through the night with no cause for alarm.
I suppose it was about 6:00 AM or so when I was awakened by our Dalmation whimpering in her cage. I really wasn't ready to get up that early in the morning. I assumed she needed to go "do her business" but I was determined to wait it out until I was ready to get up. It was a battle of wills. My wife was still asleep. The kids were still asleep. It was just me and the Dalmation. Who was going to blink first.
After about 15 minutes of dog whimpering, I couldn't stand it anymore. I decided I was going to have to give in and take her outside. It was at that moment, I realized I was in trouble. I knew that the rain had continued all night, but I didn't realize it was as bad as this. When I rolled over on the foam mattress to get up, the foam mattress soaked up about 6 inches of water that had leaked inside the tent. Unknown to me, we were actually sleeping in a puddle of water but as long as I remained relatively still on the mattress, life was dry. As soon as I moved, this huge sponge that I called a mattress became my worst enemy. I panicked and woke everybody up. The dog was actually whimpering because the water level was rising in the tent and into her cage, not because she had to go outside.
Of course, all our clothes were soaked. Nothing was dry. I mean nothing was dry. We grabbed what we could, ran to the car--dog and all---and decided we would just drive to a local Waffle House and eat breakfast while the floods subsided. I wish you could have seen the looks on the faces of the Waffle House patrons when all 4 of us arrived, soaking wet, with our Dog hanging out the backseat of our car. Even for a Waffle House crowd, this was a sight to see.
After a good hot breakfast, we managed to make it back to the campground; dry off; pack our belongings and move to a log cabin in the same campground. Enough camping for us. We wanted a real roof over our head and some dry sheets to go along with it.
I learned a lesson on that camping trip and that was to be better prepared for emergencies. I didn't set-up the tent properly. I didn't dig a drainage trench around the tent. All of these things would have prevented the disaster that we faced. Just taking a few extra moments to really prepare for what might have come (and eventually did come) would have saved us a world of hurt. I learned that there are times you just can't afford to take shortcuts. Our Christian Life is a lot like that. We can convince ourselves and justify to ourselves that we are truly prepared for what the world throws at us. We do this by saying we're too busy to pray regularly. We do this by convincing ourselves that reading the Bible once a month or so is OK. We don't realize that no one knows what comes down the road. Had I been better prepared on the camping trip, I could have survived much easier. Make sure that you don't short-change yourself by not being prepared in your Christian Life for what may lay ahead.
"Lord, your word says that approved workmen should not be ashamed. Help us to always be prepared with the arsenal of Your Words and Power to fight the battles the enemy my throw at us."
